Exclusive Set Photos from Star Wars Episode VIII Emerge

For the past couple of days, Star Wars were in a frenzied state of rumor-mill overdrive when several set footages for the next instalment in the Star Wars franchise – Episode VIII – surfaced on the Internet. Just a couple of days ago, Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, London, became the base of operations for filming several scenes of the film involving the iconic starship, the Millennium Falcon. Several unfamiliar structures are also being built alongside the legendary starship, giving us a snippet of what to expect from Episode VIII. Take a look at these photos courtesy of Dailymail from the UK.

The scenes that will be mostly recorded here are said to be the ones on planet Ahch-To, following the momentous meeting between Luke Skywalker and Rey from the closing scenes of The Force Awakens. Pinewood Studios are also tipped to double for Skellig Michael Island in County Kerry, Ireland during Episode 8’s final production. Furthermore, one these images seem to highlight a scene involving a huge, apparently fossilized tree rumored to be one of the ‘force trees’ that was once grown at the heart of the Jedi Temple in Coruscant as told in the comics. There is also one unnamed set currently being constructed as of the moment. Here’s a short clip from Dailymail.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1287456.html
Director Rian Johnson also shared via his Twitter account that principal photography and filming for Star Wars Episode 8 is now halfway done, with a 22-week timetable that began in February and will end this June.

In other news, mere days after the pictures from the Millennium Falcon set at Pinewood Studios in London has been revealed, a barrage of new images has surfaced the Net revealing an even closer view of the recreated setting seen in the final moments of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Construction at the Dingle (Ceann Sibéal) Peninsula in Ireland has been going on for several weeks and looks like it’s heading into its final stages as reported by The Independent.

Ceann Sibéal site is supposed to be the planet Ahch-To, home to the First Jedi Temple where Luke Skywalker has been in exile. It briefly appeared towards the closing of The Force Awakens but is tipped to play a far bigger role in the next instalment, as Rey is expected to begin her training with the last Jedi master. The intricate beehive structure boasts of impressive detailing and architectural ingenuity, with one of the beehive huts built on the edge of the cliff. As marvelous as it may look, the set is destined to be dismantled once filming is concluded in the area, given that this part of Ireland is declared as a Special Protection Area by the country’s National Parks and Wildlife Service. The rest of the filming restrictions include limited helicopter use to three days, filming 100m from the cliff top for 45 minutes in any one day, and limiting working personnel only to a hundred.

December 15, 2017 is kind of a long wait before we see Star Wars Episode VIII on the big screen. So before we get too tired of waiting, Disney and Lucasfilms has slated a Star Wars spin-off to grace US theaters this Christmas season. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to be shown in the US on December 16, 2016. On a similar page, a Han Solo Star Wars Anthology film is also set to be released on May 25, 2018 followed by Star Wars: Episode 9 in 2019, and a third Star Wars Anthology film in 2020.